Young conservationists explore the wilds of Kepner Creek, Norristown

A group of boys wades into the deeper waters of Kepner Creek in the Norristown Farm Park in search of wildlife during the Knee Deep in the Creek event Sunday, July 27, 2014. Photo by Brendan Wills/Times Herald Staff.

NORRISTOWN — If you take a group of boys to an event called “Knee Deep in the Creek,” they will look for any opportunity to rename it “Head Deep in the Creek. “

With sturdy shoes on feet and nets in hand, boys, girls, moms, and dads, set out on the trail of snails, frogs, minnows, and salamanders at the Norristown Farm Park during the free event on Sunday.

Meeting the explorers in the parking lot near Kepner Creek, Ruth King, naturalist and park educator, laid down the rules for the search.

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“I’m a teacher. I’m a retired classroom teacher, so I have rules,” King told the young crowd. “The first rule is: No one gets a net until they bring me three different species from the list.”

After the small hike down to the creek, it was off to the races. The older boys immediately set out in search of the deepest waters to immerse themselves, while children and parents alike quickly turned over rocks and turned in their three different species found clinging in the cracks.

For an hour, the young environmentalists searched and searched, bringing frogs, isopods, orb snails, crayfish, and water striders over to King, who helped them place the creatures into containers full of creek water. Children then took turns using small handheld nets and larger ones that required two people to hold, to aid them in their quests.

After the search, King counted the creatures and divided them up into groups based on their pollution sensitivity. She taught the children how to use a formula for determining creek health, which assigns more points to creatures with a greater susceptibility to pollution.

Though the findings of the experiment indicated the creek was healthy, King admitted that to use the formula accurately, the children needed to confine their search to a smaller portion of creek.

“Why is it important that the water in our creeks is healthy?” King asked.

“We drink it!” one of the young conservationists responded.

“That’s right. There is no new water,” King said. “This water was on the earth back when the dinosaurs roamed the earth and it is constantly being recycled.”

“Once it’s polluted. It is very hard—very expensive—to clean it,” King said, going on to explain how soil is one of the largest water pollutants.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s website, dirt pollutes water by smothering creatures, killing fish eggs, and clogging fish gills. Dirt gets into the water from construction sites and cleared forests, which in turn make the water, which would have been trapped or slowed by vegetation, to move faster, causing even more soil from the stream bank to enter the system, King said.

She then listed a few ways park officials work to keep dirt out of the county’s streams, which include keeping embankments healthy with vegetation and building retaining walls which trap dirt.

Before leaving, the children helped King put all of the creatures safely back into their environment.